Articles tagged with Immune System
Researchers found a genetic difference in people with African and European ancestry that affects inflammation response. The study suggests malaria's evolutionary pressure shaped the immune system's adaptation, which may still influence health disparities today.
Researchers identify dominant immune cells contributing to tumor tolerance and find that silencing these cells allows T cell attack on tumors. Jointly inhibiting both cell types substantially inhibits tumor growth in mouse models.
A study published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology found that people taking immunosuppressant drugs are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Corticosteroids such as prednisone reduced the risk by 20%, while IMDH inhibitors were about one-third less effective.
Researchers discovered that cytomegalovirus can infect the iris of mouse eyes, causing chronic inflammation and long-lasting eye problems. The virus remains dormant for months after infection, prompting a reevaluation of its effects on healthy individuals and potentially misdiagnosed conditions.
Researchers at Monash University have developed a hand-made super-microscope capable of seeing the building blocks of bacterial cell walls. This discovery has shed light on how bacteria evade the immune system, providing key knowledge to disarm superbug resistance.
Researchers at the University of Vienna discovered a mechanism that regulates HSCs' delicate balance between activation and dormancy, ensuring proper blood cell production. The study found that a feedback loop involving two intracellular signalling pathways maintains this balance, preventing exhaustion and potential death.
Researchers have discovered that mosquito saliva can trigger a prolonged immune response in humans, detected up to 7 days after a bite. The study found that the proteins in mosquito saliva interact with human immune cells, leading to changes in cytokine levels and T helper cell responses.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine found that mosquito saliva alone can trigger long-lasting immune responses in humanized mice, including activation of T helper cells and diverse cytokine levels. The study offers insights into developing effective strategies to prevent mosquito-borne diseases.
A high-fiber diet increases survival in influenza-infected mice by setting the immune system at a healthy level of responsiveness. It also boosts antiviral immunity by activating T cells, mediated by changes in gut bacteria composition.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Cancer Center have made a breakthrough discovery that could improve immune therapy for triple-negative breast cancer. They found that a protein called Eya3 plays a key role in activating PD-L1, which helps cancer cells evade the immune system.
Flesh-eating disease causes necrotizing fasciitis, a condition where bacteria exploit nerve communication between the nervous and immune systems. Researchers found two approaches involving nerve modulation that could prevent infections and halt disease progression.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have identified a unique type of immune cell that can combat viral infections. These unconventional V-delta-2 lymphocytes are present at birth and increase in numbers during viral infections, becoming licensed to kill and accessing tissues to detect and destroy virally infected target cells.
A new study reveals that a polydnavirus suppresses the defense mechanisms of both caterpillar hosts and plant hosts, allowing parasitic wasps to thrive. The virus reduces glucose oxidase in caterpillars' saliva, triggering lower enzyme activity and defense-gene expression in plants.
A study published in Toxicological Sciences suggests that exposure to fracking chemicals during pregnancy may impair female offspring's ability to fend off diseases. Fracking chemicals have been found in ground water near fracking sites and are linked to reproductive and developmental defects, hormone disruption, and immune system damage.
A study by Stanford University School of Medicine investigators found that older people's immune cells receive a fuzzier set of instructions, leading to reduced effectiveness. The researchers analyzed hundreds of millions of immune cells using a new method to determine the impact of environmental factors on aging and disease.
Researchers found that an immune-system generated molecule called nitric oxide (NO) inhibits the ability of Staphylococcus aureus to transform from a benign colonizing state to its virulent form, producing toxins. NO may play a key role in preventing staph infections by blocking quorum-sensing systems.
A new study from UCSF reveals the fetal immune system can trigger preterm labor when it mistakenly identifies the mother's cells as foreign. The researchers found activated immune cells in the cord blood of preterm infants and higher levels of inflammatory chemicals, leading to uterine contractions.
Research from the University of Bath found that exercise can increase immune cells and improve response to flu jabs, contradicting a long-held myth. The study suggests that low numbers of immune cells after exercise are not a sign of suppression, but rather a signal that cells are working in other parts of the body.
Scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt explore cryobiology's social and biological impacts, including 'suspended life', and study immune defense mechanisms to understand pathogens' evasion strategies.
A study found that tumors may overcome immunotherapy by increasing TIM3 and regulatory T cells, which inactivate immune killer T cells. Adding a TIM3 inhibitor to radiotherapy/immunotherapy increased response duration, but tumors still relapsed. Researchers also discovered that Tregs contribute to cancer regrowth.
Researchers at Garvan Institute of Medical Research found that a population of 'bad' antibodies, usually silenced due to harm to the body, can be activated to fight disease. The 'redeemed' antibodies become powerful weapons to combat diseases evading the immune system by disguising themselves as normal body tissue.
Researchers at Lund University found that migratory birds have a less variable immune system than sedentary birds, possibly due to the reduced diversity of pathogens in their breeding grounds. This adaptation could provide a survival advantage, as dealing with multiple pathogens is often difficult for birds when they first encounter them.
A promising class of drugs, known as CD40 monoclonal antibodies, could be the spark needed to light the fire in the immune system of patients who don't respond to cancer immunotherapies. These drugs activate antigen-presenting cells to prime tumor-specific T cell responses.
Gonorrhoea superbugs have developed resistance to all known antibiotics, targeting human immune cells called macrophages. Monash researchers discovered the mechanism of evasion, which could lead to new strategies for combating gonorrhea infection.
A new study discovered an antibody that can prevent tumors from shedding proteins the immune system uses to identify and attack them. In mouse models of melanoma and lung cancer, this antibody increased natural killer cell infiltration into tumors, reducing their load.
A researcher uses mass cytometry technology to visualize a person's immune system, creating an 'Instagram' of millions of blood cells. This technique predicts cancer treatment responses and identifies potential biomarkers for patients who will respond positively to immunotherapy.
AbeXXa Biologics has partnered with global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim to develop a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy. The partnership aims to create personalized therapies tailored to each patient's tumor using atypical HLAs, which have less variability than classical HLAs.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have discovered a new way to fight sepsis by boosting the immune system with a drug that increases key immune cells. The approach has shown significant and lasting improvements in patients, offering hope for improved survival rates.
Researchers discovered a crucial link between virus sensing and gene expression in plant immune systems. The Rx1-Glk1 connection enables plants to regulate their antiviral responses without overdoing it.
Researchers found that viruses use epigenetic regulation to mute the immune system, causing cancer cells to proliferate. By demethylating specific gene promoter regions, it may be possible to revive an immune system muted by cancer-causing viruses and increase the effectiveness of immune-based therapies.
A smallpox outbreak could have devastating consequences in cities with high rates of immunosuppression. Experts warn that children and young people aged 0-19 years are most at risk, while older adults over 45 may experience severe disease and death.
A study in house finches reveals that immune systems can inadvertently help bacteria become stronger over time, leading to a catch-22 situation. Researchers found that birds with stronger immunity to more virulent strains were more likely to exclude low-virulence strains from future infections.
A landmark study reveals that maternal immune system activation can shape brain development in babies, with elevated IL-6 and CRP levels correlating with changes in the salience network. The study found significant effects on infant brain function and development into toddlerhood.
A landmark study found that maternal immune system activation during pregnancy can shape brain development in infants, influencing the functioning of the salience network. Elevated inflammatory markers were correlated with changes in brain regions and persisted into toddlerhood.
A study published in JNeurosci found that a woman's immune system during pregnancy influences the development of her child's brain network, which may be linked to psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Higher maternal immune activation was also associated with improved cognitive ability in infants.
Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have developed an innovative approach to treat peanut allergies by retraining the immune system using nanoparticles. The study found that delivering molecules to the lymph nodes quells allergic reactions, providing long-lasting tolerance without repeated exposures.
Researchers discovered that a subset of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are susceptible to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway. MPNs hijack this pathway to prevent T cells from attacking malignant cells, but mutant JAK2 activation can expose a therapeutic vulnerability.
A new study by Gladstone Institutes researchers shows that infection sites impact the immune system's response to a virus and its spread through the body. The study found that different routes of sexual transmission trigger distinct immune responses, influencing the virus's dissemination.
Scientists used a computational model to show that sepsis treatment needs multiple-step targeting for effective therapy. The study suggests 'precision medicine' is necessary due to the complexity of individual patient responses.
A new oncolytic virus has been shown to kill cancer cells by alerting the immune system, triggering a widespread immune response that kills cancer cells beyond the infected region. Researchers have found that the virus's mechanism of action involves exposing tumor proteins, which are then detected by the immune system, leading to a pow...
A study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry found that PFAS can inhibit a mussel's immune system, but the effects are reversible. The research highlights the importance of monitoring regions with high environmental concentrations of PFAS.
Platelets have been found to act as the immune system's first responders when a virus, bacterium, or allergen enters the bloodstream. They release serotonin, which triggers an inflammatory response in mice with antigen-antibody complexes, leading to septic or anaphylactic shock.
Researchers have identified 10 previously unknown bacterial immune defense mechanisms, which may provide new insights into the evolution of human immunity. These systems include novel Toll-Interleukin Receptor domains and genes 'borrowed' from non-defensive bacterial systems.
A UCL-led research team found that an excessive inflammation reaction in older people can obstruct the immune system, leading to weaker immune responses. Blocking this inflammation with a short-term anti-inflammatory pill increased the immune system's effectiveness.
New research published in PLOS Pathogens reveals that certain flu virus mutations can restore fitness by adding a new sugar molecule to the hemagglutinin, enabling Goldilocks binding to the host cell. This understanding improves efforts to design more effective flu vaccines.
Researchers have found a new mechanism of immunotherapy resistance that appears to be reversible, potentially enhancing the effect of current therapies. The approach targets a signaling pathway within the tumor microenvironment, which is manipulated by melanomas to silence dendritic cells.
A study by McLean Hospital neuroscientists reveals that brief immune system activation within days of birth can cause persistent changes in sleep patterns and epilepsy-like brain activity, common symptoms in autism spectrum disorder. The findings suggest that early postnatal immune activation can have long-term negative impacts on brai...
Researchers at Helmholtz Munich successfully halted an autoimmune reaction in the early stages of islet autoimmunity, a key step in developing potential treatments for type 1 diabetes. The study reveals that inhibiting the miRNA181a/NFAT5 axis can increase Treg formation and reduce immune activation.
Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center found that cancer patients with more versions of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes respond better to checkpoint inhibitors. The study also showed that certain HLA patterns affect survival and may be relevant for understanding side effects observed with immunotherapy.
Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University have discovered that overexpression of the MKL1 protein in macrophages contributes to inflammation development in IBD. Targeting this protein may hold potential for treating IBD, a condition with currently no cure.
A new study reveals that mutations in 'Ras' genes, which drive 25% of human cancers, can also suppress the immune system around tumors by increasing PD-L1 levels. This understanding will help offer patients more precise and effective treatments.
Researchers have discovered a promising new strategy to program the immune system to fight cancer by leveraging the novel function of the protein Runx3. This allows killer T cells to locate and persist in infected tissues or tumors, helping to eradicate infections or slow growth of malignancies.
Researchers discovered Plasmodium falciparum uses nanovesicles to deliver misleading messages to the immune system, allowing it to multiply unhindered. The team identified a key molecular sensor called STING that plays a crucial role in this subversive strategy.
Researchers found that SIRT1 stabilizes a mechanism preventing immune cell toxic effects, but its loss accelerates glycolysis and cytokine production. This understanding led to potential new drug targets to strengthen or weaken SIRT1, potentially countering age-related diseases.
Researchers found that patients with more mutations in their tumors had better survival rates after adoptive T cell therapy. The treatment, which sharpens T cells to fight cancer, showed promising results but also many side effects.
Researchers found that patients with high levels of indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) at diagnosis have lower overall survival rates and early mortality. IDO expression should routinely be measured during bone marrow biopsies to identify potential treatment targets.
Researchers have identified key epigenetic marks and proteins that control the production of antibodies in the immune system. By understanding these systems, scientists hope to develop new diagnostic tests and therapies to boost the body's response to infection.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh identified a previously unknown mechanism by which immune responses are regulated. The discovery found that Th2 cells express EGFR, releasing defense molecules only in response to parasites, preventing tissue damage.
Scientists at the University of Michigan found that injecting nanoparticles can redirect neutrophil immune cells away from an injury site, reducing inflammation. This discovery could lead to new treatments for acute lung injuries, sepsis, and atherosclerosis.
A study suggests that targeting the 'stalk' of the hemagglutinin protein, which remains relatively constant across flu strains, could provide broad protection against seasonal and pandemic strains. However, the results also show that the stalk can mutate in response to immune pressure.